Dr. Gerd Krahmann,
of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is aboard the
Research Vessel Laurence M. Gould heading to Antarcticâs
Weddell Sea. Krahmann is leading a group of five scientists
and technicians from Lamont (Dr. Robin Robertson, Dr.
Deborah LeBel, Dee Breger, and Tim Newberger) on an
expedition to replace moored instruments deployed on
the northern rim of the Weddell Sea. These three moorings
have been observing the strength and properties of the
outflow of Weddell Sea Bottom Water for the past four
years. The instruments need to be recovered every one
to two years to exchange batteries and download the
data.

Because it
is very cold and salty, Weddell Sea Bottom Water is
one of the densest water masses in the world oceans.
As such, it and similar dense water masses formed in
other locations around Antarctica spread throughout
the deep part of the worldâs oceans. The goal of the
project, dubbed CORC/ARCHES, is to observe changes of
the properties and strength of the outflow of Weddell
Sea Bottom Water over a period of ten years. Since the
Weddell Sea is a major source of deep water, changes
in the outflowing waters formed there will in turn affect
the global circulation of deep water. Another group
of Lamont Scientists is concurrently investigating the
processes involved in the formation of deep water in
the Antarcticâs Ross Sea (See
the Antarctic AnSlope expedition).

We are back
in Magellan Strait, 8 nautical miles from Punta
Arenas. One more hour and our cruise will end.
The trip across Drake Passage was fine. We were
lucky that we passed between two storms. Only
the first day had some swell (the big long rolling
waves of the high ocean) left from the first storm.
We had already packed partially at Palmer Station.
For all our gear, including the instruments we
intended to deploy, we have our own 20 foot container.
Everything but our seawater samples, which are
not allowed to freeze, could be loaded early.
First thing this morning was loading the 20 leftover
boxes into the container.

Unfortunately,
we were delayed a few hours due a head wind on
the last part of the passage. Thus we took over
the pilot at the entrance of Magellan Strait around
midnight. Had we been earlier we would have had
a chance to observe dolphins which in this area
frequently follow and apparently play in the ship's
wake.

The weather
here in Punta Arenas is just fine for this time
of the year (late fall, compare it to early November
in the northern hemisphere). In an hour or so
we will dock, and after the customs and other
administrative procedures (which usually take
1 to 2 hours) we will be allowed to go into town.
As fresh vegetables and fruits were getting scarce
on board (they usually don't last much longer
than 3 weeks) we will be happy to enjoy the local
food. Most of us are leaving Punta Arenas tomorrow
around noon for a 24 hour journey back home. Everybody
will be happy to get back to their own beds. And
then after a few weeks back home we will wish
to be out at sea again.